Nobel Prizes Connected with Uppsala University

Research at Uppsala is of high international class. One sign of this is the fact that eight Nobel laureates have been connected with the University. Most of these prizes have gone to scientists in the fields of physics and chemistry.

Allvar Gullstrand, Professor of Ophtalmiatrics (eye diseases), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1911. He was both a theoretican and a practitioner, and among other things developed new instruments for eye examinations.

The Austrian Robert Bárány received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1914 for his studies of the sense of balance. In 1926 he was appointed Professor of Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases at Uppsala University.

The Svedberg, Professor of Physical Chemistry, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1926. He constructed the first ultracentrifuge for determining the size and form of various macromolecules, a separation method that has been of immense value to biochemistry and molecular biology.

Nathan Söderblom was a Professor at the Faculty of Theology and later Archbishop of Sweden. His ecumenical work received recognition in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930.

Manne Siegbahn, Professor of Physics, introduced modern nuclear physics to Sweden. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 for his contributions to X-ray spectroscopy.

Arne Tiselius, Uppsala’s first Professor of Biochemistry, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1948. The method he divised, electrophoresis of protein, played a major role in establishing Uppsala as a leader in biochemical separation methods.

Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations 1953–1961, studied economics at Uppsala University. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.

Kai Siegbahn, Professor of Physics (son of Manne Siegbahn) received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1981. His work in high-resolution electron spectroscopy provided an important analytical method for studying the effects of chemical binding.